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Engineering geology is essentially the application of engineering principles and methodologies to
solving and addressing considerations of a geologic nature. Some areas of focus are structural
geology, the nature and behavior of rock and soil materials as they occur in natural ground, and
the relationship that those rocks and geologic materials may have on development and human
processes.

Seismology is the study of the behavior of earthquakes and the transmission of energy waves
through the ground as a result of those earthquakes. In particular, it’s looking at the nature
of high ground acceleration that’s developed by offsets on faults. Seismology looks at the
transmission of that energy through surrounding rocks, soil, and fill materials and essentially
what happens to anything that is built over those materials. It goes hand in hand with
engineering geology in the evaluation of seismological type geological hazards that are present
in the environment. These can include land sliding, flash floods, mud flows, debris flows, quick
ground, soft ground, adverse seepage, and a whole variety of different issues that can be
difficult to address.

With regard to seismology, there are two major factors we look at. First, we interpret the
development of seismic response spectra for particular sites. This allows us to estimate the
risks of seismic effects on development and to interpret after the fact what occurred during an
earthquake. Second, we examine the generation of a variety of different seismologic hazards such
as ground cracking, liquefaction, and other related changes to the earth.